The present invention is a hydraulic rescue tool which can be used to remove victims from the wreckage of traffic accidents, or to perform other tasks requiring substantial amounts of power, such as prying, lifting, squeezing, cutting, and the like.
Rescue tools for extricating victims from accidents have only recently become available. The tools of the prior art have comprised a pair of arms, disposed symmetrically around a central axis, the arms being pivotably mounted at points on the periphery of the apparatus. A hydraulically-operated piston has been used to push the arms apart or to pull the arms together, the pushing or pulling being done with extraordinary force. The operation of pushing the arms apart is useful in prying open pieces of mangled metal within which a victim is trapped. The operation of pulling the arms together is useful in lifting heavy objects, provided that the necessary chains or other media are fastened to the arms and to the object to be lifted.
An example of a hydraulic rescue tool of the prior art is shown in German Pat. No. 2621249.
The first rescue tools manufactured were made of light-weight, high-strength metals, such as titanium and steel. Subsequent tools have appeared on the market which are of all-metal construction, with lesser strength-to-weight ratios. The most powerful portable rescue tool in the prior art weighs over 70 pounds. Because rescue tools of this type are generally used in an environment of considerable stress and urgency, it is essential that the tool not be too heavy, so that it can be easily maneuvered without causing excessive fatigue on the operator. The use of a powerful, heavy, and poorly-balanced rescue tool in a restricted space can be dangerous to both the rescuer and the accident victim. There is thus a need for a relatively light-weight, and easily operated rescue tool.
During rescue operations, it is also necessary to cut through metal. Attempts have been made to add scissor-like blades to the arms of conventional rescue tools. However, such attempts have not been successful. The cantilevered weight of the blade has proved too unwieldy, and the arms holding the blades would flex and snap shut. There was also a problem involving breakage of the pin holding the scissors to the arms, due to hypersonic vibrations. Just as a conventional scissors will not cut a piece of paper cleanly unless the blades are held firmly together, the blades in prior art rescue tools could not adequately cut metal, because the arms could not be adequately held together, and were not of sufficient rigidity to maintain their precise, desired positions. The present invention provides a structure which also solves the above-described problem.
Thus, the invention discloses a powerful, relatively light-weight, well-balanced, and easily operated rescue tool which provides the capability of pushing, pulling, and cutting in a single tool.